Raising money for Abbi and Aidan

20131014- Abbi Reid. 'Abbi Reid, who has cerebral palsy will shortly have a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy operation which will hopefully help to alleviate the symptoms of her condition. ''Copyright Andy Thompson Photography. 'No use without payment.

Published:11:00Sunday 18 May 2014

A trio of local men are getting ready to take part in the 170-mile Ride the North cycle event in order to help two children in the town.

Taking part in the event are Ronan Littlejohn (48), a project manager with AquaTerra, Charlie Wright (55), a project manager with BP and James Grosset (63) who is a retired director. All of the cyclists stay in Johnshaven.

The money raised from sponsored event will be going towards Aidan Thompson and Abbi Reid.

Aidan, from Montrose, is five-years-old and has severe developmental verbal dyspraxia, which is a neurological disorder that affects his ability to speak and move freely.

Abbi is a six-year-old girl, also from Montrose, who has Cerebral Palsy.

The local NHS approved funding for SDR operation in the UK but the family need to raise awareness of the condition and also funds to help pay for her physiotherapy which is not funded by the NHS.

Mr Littlejohn told the Review: “Myself and James took part in the Ride the North event last year and we raised funds for Maggies centre in Aberdeen. This year we decided to keep the money we raised local, so we have decided to donate the money to Aidan Thompson and Abbi Reid who are both from Montrose.”

The cycle run is to cover 170 miles over two days. On the first day they will leave Inverness and head in to the Cairngorm National Park, through Carrbridge, Grantown, into the heart of Speyside Whisky country which will include an overnight stop in Elgin. This journey amounts to a total of approximately 88 miles.

On the second day, it is back into the Whisky country for the group where they will be visiting Dufftown, then over Cabrach to Donside with a climb over the spectacular Suie Hill onto Monymusk. They will then finish in Aberdeen. The second leg is around 82 miles.